US police is utilizing facial recognition software, says China

We already knew China was helping African nations spy on their citizens. Now it turns out it might also be helping the United States.

According to Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post published a story claiming it saw official Chinese documents detailing the New York Police Department’s use of the same Chinese-developed cameras and facial recognition software China uses to monitor its citizens.

“The veracity of the story’s details are under debate, but the increased use of surveillance technology in the U.S. is an indisputable fact” and Americans might actually be better off if the technology originates from China.

The SCMP claims to have seen an official Chinese government document that reveals that the U.S. is currently using surveillance technology developed by Chinese company Hikvision.

This is reportedly the exact same technology powering China’s Sky Net, which is the world’s largest video surveillance system.

The report denies knowing the extent to which the U.S. has incorporated this technology. However, the SCMP claims the document states that the NYPD uses Hikvision’s products on a large scale and that the products are in use elsewhere in the U.S., too.

If true, the report would raise concerns about a foreign superpower using hardware to gain access to surveillance resources used by U.S. law enforcement.